Mechanical musical instrument



(No Model.) a sheets-sheen 1.

, G.B. KELLY. MEGHANIGAL MUSIGAL INSTRUMENT. No. 517,805v Patented Apr.3, 1894.

MMM

2 a a. 5- Q74* W IME NAvloNAL ufHoGnAPmNe COMPANY,

wAsr-llNGTcN. n. c.

3 ShCets--Sheet 2.

(NC Moden) K A I Gr.` B. KELLY.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. No; 517,805. PAICAIAC Apr. 3, 1894.

N N MN A f N Na y f N I N s m WMWA. CMH-S. d; e y, s ),\);;\\\\\\\\&

. 5."- AQA KA :Cv U/,Z n lb1 n n n In." V102 "fuk uzuzuuuuu-nnn*auguguluo .l l

Figi-5 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

CE. KELLY. I

l MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. No. 517,805. l Patented Apr. 3, 1894.

` "NEMEN f. 'WM Z 6, Mwm m.

mmmmmmmmmmm e,

s Unirse STATES FATENT Ormes.

GEORGE B. KELLY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. l

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 517,805, dated April 3,1894.

Application filed May l5, 1893. Serial No. 474,307. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. KELLY, of. Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Mechanical Musical Instruments, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a mechanical inu-v sical instrument operatedby a perforated strip of suitable sheet material, more particularly,although applicable to reed organs, and the invention consists of acertain construction and arrangement of pneumatic bellows for operationin combination with the valves to musical reeds or other soundingdevices, all substantially as hereinafter fully described referencebeing had to the accompanying sheets of drawings in which is illustratedthe present invention in its application to a reed organ, in connectionwith a perforated music strip.

Figure l is a vertical section from the front to the rear. Fig. 2 is asimilar section of the lower portion of Fig. l enlarged. Fig. 3 is adetail plan view line 3--3 Fig. 1. similar section to Fig. 2', but withsome of the parts in different positions. Fig. 5 is a detail verticalsection on line 5--5 Fig. 4.

In the drawings A represents a frame or boxin which is the wind chestchamber B of a reed organ, which is connected in any suitable manner tothe usual exhaust bellows of the organ but which is not shown, andneeding no particular description herein.

At one end of the wind chest is secured an upright C having a verticalair passage D through it, which communicates at its lower end with thewind chest chamber ata,and at its upper end is a small valve E which isarranged to t over and close upon the upper open end of the verticalpassage D. Below the opening a. in the wind chest chamber is a valve Fiiexibly connected at b to a horizontal lever G pivoted at d to a lug eof the upper board H on the under side of which lever bears the free endof a spring J secured at f to a block g of the board H. Within thevertical air passage D is a rod or wire K which rests on the valve F inthe wind chest, and it is of such a length, that when the valveF isclosed, the wire or rod will Nproject a short distance above the upperend of the tube or upright Fig. 4. is aA O on which the small valve Fwill rest, and thus be held open as shown in Fig. l.

L, M, are horizontal reed boards one above the other in the samevertical plane and secured to a suitable support, the lower one L havingan air chamber N, a reed cell h and a reed m arranged and locatedtherein as usual in reed organs, and communicating in the usual mannerwith the wind chest, and the upper reed board M has three separate reedchambers P, Q, R, and reed cells and reeds, as shown in Fig. 1 whichcommunicate with the wind chest through the chamber P in the usualmanner. The reed cell h to the lower reed has a valve n pivoted at r andeX- tending down over the opening to the reed cell, which valve is heldto its seat by a spring t. The three reed cells in the upper board areclosed at their openings by one long valve S pivoted at u to an arm oofthe reed board M. The strip T to which this valve is attached, has atits lower end near its hinge an arm tu which projects therefrom andagainst the under side in a longitudinal groove bears the free end of aspringU secured to the arm o by which the valve is held to its seat overlthe three reedcell openings.

On the side of the vertical standard C toward the lower reed board issecured as shown a pneumatic bellows V which communicates by yan airpassage y with the vertical air passage D, and its movable board Z hasattached to it an upwardly extending arm a to which the valve n of thereed cell h in line therewith is secured by a rod b pivoted to said arm.There is another pneumatic bellows w on the opposite side of thestandard O and it has communications with the air passage D by anopening d its movable board having an arm e to which is attached a rod fwhich extends along to the front and passes freely through a guide postof the reed board in position for its end to abut against the valvestrip T of the valve S. All these connecting rods are arranged to beadjusted as to their length so that when the pneumatic bellows are opentheir respective valves will be closed.

A is a pneumatic bellows in the wind chest chamber, and secured to theunder side of the top board B. ofthe chest, an arm or valve C secured toits movable board and project- ICO ing beyond the bellows being arrangedto bear when the bellows is closed against the lower end ot' a shortvertical tube D secured in the top board, and held to its seat thereonby aspring g secured tothe wind chest board at 7L and bearing on thevalve C.

E is a block or valve which has secured to its under side a downwardlyprojecting wire or pin F extending centrally down through the tube D andscrewed into the upper side of the block or valve C of the pneumaticbellows A.

On the upper side of the wind chest board is pivoted at m a lever Ghaving secured to it at one end a fiat flexible strip I-l which extendsforward and is disposed just over the valve E. Under the other end ofthis lever G is the end of a level' J piveted at n' to the board, aspring K bearing against the under side of its end r secured to theboard at t.

L is a key pivoted or hinged at u and it has a pin il which passesfreely down through an opening in the key frame board M and rests uponthe upper side of the end r of the lever J.

The tube D forms an air passage N between the outside and inside of thewind chest chamber it being of a length to project a short distanceabove and below the wind chest board so that the valves will have a seatthereon, and not touch the chest board, to close the passage free andclear of the board, the tube having an opening P in its side, whichopens into one end of a horizontal air passage Q in the board B which atits other end communicates by a passage R with the chamber S of apneumatic bellows T secured on top of the chest board, an arm secured tothe free end of its movable board projecting beyond it, bearing orresting by its under side on a pin or wire e adapted to freely passthrough the board B and rest upon the top side of the valve F.

Vis a small vertical tube extending through the wind chest board, itslower end opening into the chamber of the pneumatic bellows A and itsupper end projectingashort distance above the board just back of thelever G over which is 'secured the end of a tube W of any suitablematerial, the other end of the connecting tube W being closed over theend ot a small short tube Y secured in the under side of a horizontalblock A2 and communieating with a vertical passage a2 therein, whichpassage extends up through the block, and is open at its upper surfaceto the air, over which block is arranged to travel a strip B2 ofperforated sheet material, which is wound upon a spool or roll C2adapted to revolve upon a suitable support, and to run therefrom to andbe wound upon another spool or roll D2 arranged to revolve upon asupport.

The operation of the instrument is as follows: Air being exhausted fromthe wind chest in the usual manner, with an unperforated portion of themusic sheet B2 over the opening a2 in the block A2 the parts will all bein block or racewa A2 imxnediatelv a erforaj tion b2 comes over theopening a2 in the block A2 it allows air to enter therein from its upperend which passes down through the tube W to and into the pneumaticbellows A', which it opens, moving its board down and with it the valveE', which 'then rests and bears on the upper end of the tube D', closingit to air therethrough from the outside but opening the lower end of thetube to the passage of air into the wind chest which passes into thetube through the side opening P', which causes the pneumatic bellows Tto close its movable board and block U to nieve down and press open thevalve Fin the wind chest by its pin o', allowing air to then pass downthrough the vertical passage D consequently exhausting air from thepneumatic bellows V and w connected therewith, closing their movableboards upon them, and through their rod connection with the reed valvesS and h opening them which allows air to enter the reed cells and passthrough the reeds sounding the same, which passes therefrom down throughthe variouspassages into the wind chestg as soon as the valve F isopened the valve Eis closed by gravity, the rod `following downward thevalve F, and as soon as an unperforated portion of the perforated sheetcomes over the block opening a2 air ceases to pass down therethrough,consequently closing the reed valves, pneumatic bellows in the windchest, and opening the pneumatic bellows 'lV outside which allowsthevalve F to close the opening to the vertical passage D closing the valveE and returning all parts to their normal positions, ready for anotheroperation of the same as before. As the valve F is connected to itslever'Gr by a flexible connection l) it is apt when moving down to opento have its end cl2 move lirst, being operated bythe bellows T whichiuterferes witha quick and full opening of the air passage D iu theupright C, and to obvate this and make the valve open straight orsquare, a preferablylight spring c2 is secured to the lever which bearsby its free end against the under side ot the end of the valve whichserves to retard or hold back such end and cause the other end to movedown quickly, or as soon as the end cl2 so that the valve will be moveddown practically in a straight or parallel line, which insures a fullopening of the passage D to the air at once.`

Vhen not using the perforated sheet, the instrument can be played by thekey as in pressing down the key it swings the lever J lIO on its pivotn', which in turn operates the lever G to move the valve E down to andupon its seat on the upper end of the tube D and open its lower end bypressing down the valve C of the pneumatic bellows Aaway from its seaton the lower end of the tube D opening it as before to the passage ofair into the wind chest as described for the perforated sheet.

The instrument can be played by the use of the perforated music sheetand the keys at the same time or separately and independently of eachother.

A metal tube for an air passage to the pneumatic bellows as shown havingits ends project a short distance above and below the board, in which itis secured, secures it always in position for close seats, for itsrespective valves, it is permanent and fixed, and not aected by thetemperature, as is often the case when the air passage is made in theboard and the valve seat thereon, as in such case the swelling andshrinking of the wood aects the closeness ot` the valve to the seat moreor less and causes it to leak correspond-A ingly, and it also secures aseat that is free from dust and dirt that usually collects on the topboard.

The drawings only show the parts necessary to sound one note of theinstrument, but as is obvious the parts can be duplicated for all thenotes, making the full compass of theinstrument.

As is obvious any suitable sounding device can be used in lieu of reeds,such as pipes, che., for instance,-the invention not being limited to anorgan having reeds for the sounding devices; also a more or less numberof reed boards can be used as desired.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In a reed organ,a wind chest, a standard or upright, a vertical air passage in saidstandard communicating with the wind chest, a pneumatic bellowscommunicating with the vertical passage, a reed valve connected to saidpneumatic bellows, a valve in the wind chest to said vertical passage, apneumatic bellows outside of said wind chest, arranged to operate saidvalve, an air passage between said last pneumatic bellows and the windchest, and a pneumatic bellows valve in the wind chest operated andcontrolled by and through the means of a perforated music sheet,arranged to travel over an air passage leading to said pneumatic bellowsin the wind chest.

2. In a reed organ, a wind chest, a series of reed boards arranged in avertical plane one above the other, each having a reed chamber, a reedcell, a valve to such cell, a standard or upright having a vertical airpassage, communicating with the wind chest, pneumatic bellows secured tosaid standard and having communication with its air passage, and eachconnected to a valve of a reed cell, a valve in the wind chest to saidvertical passage, a

pneumatic bellows outside of said wind chest, arranged to operate saidvalve, an air passage between said last pneumatic bellows and the windchest and a pneumatic bellows valve in the wind chest operated andcontrolled by and through the means of aperforated music sheet arrangedto travel over an air passage leading to said pneumatic bellows in thewind chest. j

3. In an organ, a wind chest, a metal tube extending through one wallot`the wind chest, each end projecting a short distance beyond each side ofthe thickness of the wall, and two valves one to each end of said tubeand rigidly connected together.

4. In an organ, a wind chest, a metal tube extending through one wall ofthe wind chest, each end projecting a short distance beyond each side ofthe thickness of the wall, and two Valves,'one to each end of said tube,and adj ustably connected together.

5. In an organ, a .vind chest, a metal tube,

extending through one wall of the wind chest, each end projecting ashort distance beyond each side ot the thickness of said wall, and twovalves one to each end of said-tube and rigidly connected together by awire extending through said tube.

6. In an organ, a wind chest, a metal tube extending through one wall ofthe wind chest, each endprojecting a short distance beyond each side ofthe thickness of said wall, and two valves one to each end of said tubeand connected together by a wire rigidly secured to one valve andscrewing into the other.

7. In an organ, a wind chest,'a metal tube through one wall ot the windchest, each end projecting a short distance beyond each side of thethickness of the wall fora seat for avalve, a chamber connected with apneumatic bellows, and an opening in the side of said tube communicatingwith said chamber.

8. A valve to an air passage, a pivoted lever to which said valve issecured at or near its centralportion, and a spring secured to as-upport and bearing on one end of said valve for the purpose specified.

9. A valve to an air passage, a pivotedlever to which said valve issecured at or near its central portion, and a spring secured to thelever and bearing on one end of said valve for the purpose specified.

IO. In a reed organ, a wind chest, a series of reed boards arranged in averticalplane one above the other, each having a reed chamber, a reedcell, a valve to such cell, a standard or upright having a vertical airpassage, communicating with the wind chest, pneumatic bellows secured tosaid standard and having communication with its air passage and eachconnected to a valve of a reed cell, a valve in the wind chest to saidvertical passage, a pneumatic bellows outside of said wind chestarranged to operate said last valve, an air passage between said lastpneumatic bellows and the wind chest, a pneumatic bellows IIO valve tosaid air passage, and a key pivoted to a support, and arranged tooperate said pneumatic bellows valve.

11. In a reed organ, a wind chest, a series of reed boards arranged in aVertical plane one above the other, each having a reed chamber, a reedcell, a valve to such cell, a standard or upright having a vertical airpassage, communicating with the wind chest, pneumatic bellows secured tosaid standard and having communication with its air passage and eachconnected to a Valve of a reed cell, a Valve in the wind chest to saidvertical passage, a pneumatic bellows outside of said wind chestarranged to operate said last Valve, an air passage between said lastpneumatic bellows and the wind chest,a pneumatic bellows valve to saidair passage, a lever arranged to operate said pneumatic bellows Valve, akey pivoted to a support and a lever between key and said pivoted leverfor operation thereof.

12. In a reed organ, a wind chest, a standard or upright, a vertical airpassage in said standard communicating with the wind chest, a pneumaticbellows communicating with the vertical passage, a reed Valve connectedto said pneumatic bellows, a valve in the wind chest to said verticalpassage, a pneumatic bellows outside of said wind chest, arranged tooperate said Valve, a tube forming an air passage between theoutside andinside of the wind chest, an airpassagebetween said pneul matic bellowsand said tube passage, a pneumatic bellows in said wind chest, a valveattached thereto to close said tube air passage, a passage communicatingwith the wind chest and leading to and opening to the outer side 'of ablock orraceway and aperforated music sheet arranged to travel over saidblock or raceway opening.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

p GEORGE B. KELLY. Witnesses:

EDWIN W. BROWN, LEONA C. ARNO.

